Lot was a prophet of Allah, the Almighty. He lived in Sodom, a cluster of villages located on the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan. Prophet Lot was the cousin of Prophet Abraham. One day, three handsome men, with beautiful faces, visited Prophet Abraham. They entered and greeted him with "Peace," to which he replied with "Peace" and welcomed them, rejoicing in their arrival. As Prophet Abraham was a generous man who loved guests and honored them, he quickly went to his wife, Lady Sarah, and slaughtered a large, fat calf to prepare a meal for his guests. He roasted the calf, making it look delicious and appetizing, and placed it before them to eat. But to his astonishment, they neither approached the food nor ate it!
Prophet Abraham became frightened of these young men because, among the Arabs, if a guest did not eat from their food, they suspected that he came with ill intentions or harbored malice towards them. When the guests noticed Abraham's fear, they said, "Do not be afraid of us, and be at ease; we will not harm you. We are angels sent by Allah." It is said that they were Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael. They told him, "Do not fear, Abraham, for Allah has sent us to destroy the village of Sodom." Prophet Abraham was saddened and said, "But Lot is in that village, and he is a righteous believer." They reassured him, saying, "Do not worry; Allah, the Almighty, will save him, and he will not be destroyed with them." Prophet Abraham tried to convince them not to destroy the village, hoping that its people might return to the truth and repent for their actions, as he was a merciful and forbearing man. But they said to him, "O Abraham, refrain from this; your Lord's command has already come. Allah has decreed that they will be destroyed, and if Allah decrees something, it must happen, and we must obey and submit to Him." So Abraham remained silent, and the angels departed for the villages of Sodom to exact vengeance on its people.
The people of Lot defied nature and deviated from the pure human disposition. Men began living with men, and women with women, committing vile acts that angered Allah, the Almighty. They shamelessly exposed their private parts to each other without any sense of decency, even marrying men to men and women to women. Moreover, they were idolaters, worshipping idols, robbing travelers, seizing their money and belongings, violating sanctities, dishonoring the innocent, betraying friends, and committing abominable acts openly in their gatherings, mocking people, throwing stones at passersby, and subjecting them to inappropriate words and deeds.
Prophet Lot lived in this unjust village, feeling like a stranger among them, astonished by their actions, and loathing their evil behavior.
Prophet Lot was a believer who worshipped Allah alone, was of noble character, knew the rights of guests, and honored them, helping strangers and travelers. He was a righteous man while all the others were wicked and evil.
Because Prophet Lot was a righteous man, all the people of Sodom hated him, for he did not act like them and always advised them to stop their evil deeds and return to the natural disposition that Allah, the Almighty, had created, to live with their wives and children. But they did not heed his advice and arrogantly rejected him.
Days, months, and years passed, and Prophet Lot continued to invite them to righteousness, advising them and calling them to Allah, forbidding them from evil deeds. But despite all this, the people of Sodom only increased in their corruption and wickedness, harassing Prophet Lot even more, to the extent that they tried to expel him from their village, mocking him, saying, "He is a clean man!" They even ridiculed him, saying, "Bring us the punishment of Allah if you are truthful!"
What saddens the heart is that Prophet Lot's wife was not a believer in Allah; rather, she was an unbeliever like them. She was pleased with the vile deeds of the people of the village and even spied on Prophet Lot and reported his news to them!
There were no believers in this village except for the Prophet Lot, his daughters, and perhaps a few who hid their faith in Allah.
The angels left Prophet Abraham and headed toward Lot's village, arriving around noon. When they reached the river of Sodom, they encountered Lot's daughter, who was fetching water for her family. They asked her, "O girl, is there a place to stay?" She replied, "Yes, stay here; do not enter until I come back." She feared that her people might harm them or commit vile acts with them. She went to her father and said, "O my father, there are some young men at the city gate whose faces I have never seen more handsome than theirs. I fear that if your people see them, they will harm them and commit abominations with them. Shall we host them?"
Prophet Lot felt torn; he feared that if he hosted them, the people of the village would find out about their arrival, come to them, and take them away. Should he refuse to host them? How could he refuse when he was a believer who knew it was neither righteous nor in accordance with the religion to refuse to help his fellow Muslims? He could not turn them away; perhaps they were hungry, tired, or in need of assistance. What should he do?
Despite his anxiety and feeling that this day would be a difficult one, he decided to host them. Indeed, the three guests came to Prophet Lot's house, and no one in the entire village knew that Prophet Lot had guests except his wicked, disbelieving wife, who learned that Lot had male guests.
This wicked woman went out and informed her people that Lot had very handsome male guests at his house. The wicked men of the village rushed to Prophet Lot's house, pounding on the door violently, shouting, "O Lot, bring out your guests to us!"
Prophet Lot feared for his guests, looked around for help, but found none. He was alone, and they were many, waiting for him to open the door so they could take his guests and commit abominations with them.
Despite all this, Prophet Lot was a courageous man. He closed the door on his guests to protect them and went out to face the mob alone, strong in his faith. He said to them, "O my people, return to your senses, return to your natural disposition. Is there not among you a reasonable man who is disgusted by these vile deeds? Do you not feel ashamed of committing these abominations? Do you not fear that Allah will see you in this state? Accept Allah's command, marry women, and stay away from men."
But they were stubborn and defiant, not listening to him, for their hearts were dead, and their minds were sick. They said to him, "You know we do not want women; we want men, so bring them out to us!" At that moment, Lot wished he were not alone, that he had supporters to help him protect his guests, so they would not be harmed. At that moment, the door opened, and the guests came out. Gabriel, peace be upon him, struck their faces, blinding them so they could not find their way. Then the angels revealed their true identities, saying to Lot, "Do not fear, Lot, and be at ease. We are messengers from your Lord, sent by Allah to destroy this village and its wicked, disbelieving inhabitants in the morning. Take your family, except for your wicked wife, and leave this village at nightfall. No one among you should look back if you hear the cries, lest they be afflicted by the punishment."
Indeed, Prophet Lot commanded his family to prepare to leave the village in the darkness of the night. At midnight, he had to depart with his family in haste. Chaos engulfed the people of Sodom as Prophet Lot and his family left the village quickly. At sunrise, an astonishing event occurred.
A tremendous, earth-shaking cry echoed, and Allah rained down burning stones from the sky upon them, scorching them. A suffocating smoke surrounded them, scorching their faces and bodies. The angel lifted the village with the edge of his wing, raising it so high that the inhabitants of the heavens could hear the barking of their dogs and the crowing of their roosters. Then the village was turned upside down, with the top of the village crashing down. The sky of Sodom filled with blazing balls of fire, and the fire engulfed the land of Sodom.
Morning came, and the sun rose, but only after the entire village of Sodom was destroyed. Everything in it was demolished and burned, turning into heaps of charred stones. Everything burned and turned to ashes.
The people of Sodom had arrogantly spread corruption on the earth and defied their natural disposition, so their punishment was severe and painful.
This is why they incurred Allah's severe wrath, and the village of Prophet Lot was utterly obliterated, leaving no trace. Their village and names were wiped off the face of the earth.
But Allah, in His mercy, saved Lot and his daughters because they kept the covenant, were grateful for the blessings, worshipped the One and Only God, and were a shining example of chastity and purity. The village of Sodom became a lesson and a warning for all future generations.